Political Quotes

“Mr. President, a couple of days ago I came to the floor to talk about the partial government shutdown, how it is impacting different parts of my State--the Great State of Alaska--and, in particular, how it is impacting the men and women in the U.S. Coast Guard. I think we all recognize as we are trying to work through this partial government shutdown that a lot of Federal workers are being impacted, but let me talk about the Coast Guard because I think it is a little different than almost any other group of Federal workers. On Tuesday, these brave men and women did not receive a paycheck. They didn't receive a paycheck, and they are the only branch of the U.S. military right now, out there around the world and around the globe, risking their lives for the American people, who are not getting paid. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines--we love them all. They are working hard. They are getting paid. The men and women of the Coast Guard are not getting paid. That is wrong. That is particularly wrong. They can't leave the Coast Guard. They would get court-martialed. They are working hard, saving lives in my State, certainly--in Alaska--all the time, and they are not getting paid when the other services are getting paid. So what did we do? A number of us, Democrats and Republicans--almost one-quarter of the Members of the U.S. Senate--cosponsored a bill that says: Let's pay the Coast Guard.…”